On the Topology of the Cambrian Semilattices

For an arbitrary Coxeter group $W$, David Speyer and Nathan Reading defined Cambrian semilattices $C_{\gamma}$ as semilattice quotients of the weak order on $W$ induced by certain semilattice homomorphisms. In this article, we define an edge-labeling using the realization of Cambrian semilattices in terms of $\gamma$-sortable elements, and show that this is an EL-labeling for every closed interval of $C_{\gamma}$. In addition, we use our labeling to show that every finite open interval in a Cambrian semilattice is either contractible or spherical, and we characterize the spherical intervals, generalizing a result by Nathan Reading.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

The M\"obius function of generalized subword order

Let P be a poset and let P* be the set of all finite length words over P. Generalized subword order is the partial order on P* obtained by letting u \leq w if and only if there is a subword u' of w having the same length as u such that each element of u is less than or equal to the corresponding element of u' in the partial order on P. Classical subword order arises when P is an antichain, while letting P be a chain gives an order on compositions. For any finite poset P, we give a simple formula for the Mobius function of P* in terms of the Mobius function of P. This permits us to rederive in a easy and uniform manner previous results of Bjorner, Sagan and Vatter, and Tomie. We are also able to determine the homotopy type of all intervals in P* for any finite P of rank at most 1.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures. Incorporates referees' suggestions; to appear in Advances in Mathematic